Wrestling Observer Rewinder

July 24, 2000

Before getting into coverage of ECW's Heatwave PPV, Dave decides to look at just how scary the pro wrestling landscape is right now. WWF is the only company that appears stable and has a bright looking short-term future. The stock is up, their new TV deal, record profits, etc. Everyone else's futures look uncertain. WCW due to their staggering money losses, ECW due to money losses and the loss of their TV deal. AJPW and NOAH due to the still unknown fallout of the split. NJPW has become stale and boring by not creating new stars and business is down. Focusing on WCW, Dave goes on a rant about their failure to create new stars. 3 years ago in WWF, nobody knew or cared about Edge, Christian, Rock, Kurt Angle, or Triple H. Now they're among the biggest stars in the company. When WCW was hot and doing big business 3 years ago, they never planned for the future or created new stars and now it's biting them in the ass. But WCW's problems are beyond bad booking or creating new stars now. Their major problems are financial. How long will Time Warner and AOL put up with tens of millions of dollars in losses? If they sell, will anyone else even want it? This all goes
(Hi there. Did you notice how that last paragraph seemed to just trail off in mid-sentence? Yeah, me too. No idea where that sentence was going or why I never finished it. I originally wrote this issue up back in July and I don't have an explanation, so........whoops?)
ECW's situation is even sadder. They keep doing all the right things, hot shows, wrestlers working hard, and they have created more new stars in the last 5 years than both WWF and WCW. The style of wrestling that's so popular today in WWF, with tables breaking, female catfights, 3-way matches, etc. were all popularized in ECW first. But no matter how hard they try, shit just keeps going wrong for them and they can't dig out of the hole they're in. They've never had the economic resources they needed to compete with the big 2 and have repeatedly had to take out high interest loans just to stay financially afloat. Times are scary for ECW. Checks are late again and everyone is owed money. Many of the wrestlers in ECW have been reaching out to WCW and WWF, hoping for a way out. And now they've lost their TV deal and are in desperate need of getting a new one if they hope to survive. And even if they do get a new deal, it doesn't guarantee anything. Their last 10 months on TNN didn't really do them any good or help them grow. Buy rates have stayed stagnant, magazine and toy sales flopped, ECW merch hasn't been doing great numbers lately, etc. Without a new TV deal, ECW flat out cannot survive at its current level. It's life or death for ECW right now if they don't get a new deal. They've had ongoing negotiations with USA and other networks like FX and E! have shown interest but no agreement has been reached and ECW is quickly running out of time. They need more than just a TV exposure, they need a partner that is willing to shoulder some of the financial burden, which is something TNN was never willing to do.
Which brings us to Heatwave, ECW's latest PPV, and it's a shame because this was a really good show but the only thing anyone is talking about is XPW's attempted publicity stunt at ECW's expense. Ever since it was announced that the PPV would take place in Los Angeles, there have been rumors that XPW, headed by porn mogul Rob Black, would try to cause some sort of disturbance. XPW even teased as much on their website, which led to a lot of concern from ECW officials. As people were being let into the building, security was ordered not to allow any XPW signs, no blank signs, and no XPW t-shirts allowed. Jasmine St. Clair, the former porn star who used to work with XPW and now works in ECW (because she's dating Blue Meanie) was helping ECW officials by pointing out the XPW wrestlers in attendance, all of whom were thoroughly searched as they entered but were allowed in and ushered to their seats since they bought tickets fair and square. Some actually had front-row tickets, which should have been a warning sign. Prior to the show, Rob Black had promised his guys wouldn't cause any problems, but ECW didn't believe him and were keeping an eye on the XPW guys during the show but for most of the night, they behaved. ECW actually fired the first shot when, after the Rhino/Sandman match, Rhino grabbed a beer, chugged it, and then threw the can at the XPW guys in the front row. But then just as the main event was starting, XPW valet Kristi Myst, in the front row, took her top off, which got a big pop from the crowd (she was still wearing a bra). Francine got in Myst's face at this point, since there was an angle later in the match where Francine was to lose her top and she felt Myst was trying to upstage them. According to reports, Myst shoved Francine, who shoved her back. At that point, XPW wrestler Supreme got shoved by a security guard and all hell broke loose. Joey Styles didn't acknowledge XPW on commentary, only saying it was a drunk fan. Chaos broke out as security rushed over along with half the ECW locker room, everyone looking for a fight. Kid Kash was throwing punches over the railing at the XPW guys. Fists were flying everywhere while fans were getting knocked down. Tommy Dreamer, even though he was in the match that had just started, got out of the ring and ran to get involved.
WATCH: XPW invades ECW Heatwave 2000
Security finally got all the XPW guys out of the building and at that point, a big brawl broke out in the parking lot which was said to be extremely violent. Also, many fans realized what was happening and ran out of the building to watch, which killed the main event on TV. According to witnesses, the ECW group greatly outnumbered the XPW group and it was said New Jack, Sal E. Graziano, Roadkill, Jack Victory, Chilly Willy, Mikey Whipwreck, and even Paul Heyman were in the parking lot throwing punches at XPW guys, who eventually escaped in a limo. But not before most of them took a beating, including one XPW ring crew guy who was thrown to the ground and was punched and stomped repeatedly by (who else?) New Jack. No arrests were made or police reports filed though. Paul Heyman refused to comment on the situation after the show because he expects it to turn into a legal issue. ECW is considering legal action for XPW attempting to disrupt a live PPV broadcast, while XPW outright threatened a lawsuit, claiming the attacks on them (both inside and outside the arena) were unprovoked. XPW posted an article on their website claiming that their plan was only to reveal their XPW shirts during the main event as a way to promote themselves and that no one from XPW got physical until they were attacked first by Francine. Later in the week, Rob Black posted another letter online challenging ECW to send 5 of their wrestlers for a UFC-style shoot fight against XPW stars, saying that the only people ECW wrestlers beat up were ring crew guys and not any of the wrestlers. He also plugged Kristi Myst's porn videos.
Oh yeah, there was other stuff from the PPV: Kid Kash and Tajiri stole the show in their respective matches. Jerry Lynn vs. Steve Corino saw a sickening spot with Lynn taking Corino's blood and scrawling "DIE" on his own stomach with it. Vic Grimes wasn't on the show, even though he lives in California. Allegedly he wasn't being used on previous shows because ECW didn't want to spend the money to fly him in, but they did an angle with New Jack and Da Baldies and Grimes wasn't among them even though they were in his hometown, so there's obviously something going on there. Psicosis made his return to the company to a huge pop. And RVD debuted his new Van Terminator move, where he jumps from one end of the ring to the other, which blew everybody's minds.
WATCH: RVD debuts the Van Terminator
Speaking of NOAH, tickets for their first 3 shows in August went on sale and all 3 shows were sold out within 45 minutes. Several hundred fans camped out the night before to buy tickets as well. The shows will be held at the new 2,000 seat arena that will double as NOAH's headquarters.
Dave reviews a recent NJPW match featuring Shinjiro Otani & Tatsuhito Takaiwa vs. Koji Kanemoto & Minoru Tanaka and gives it 4.75 stars and says it's the best match he's seen so far this year. This is the closest NJPW will get to a 5-star match until Tanahashi and Suzuki end the drought in 2012.
WATCH: Shinjiro Otani & Tatsuhito Takaiwa vs. Koji Kanemoto & Minoru Tanaka - NJPW (2000)
Shawn Michaels' TWA wrestling TV show has been cancelled due to production costs. It was a 30-minute show that aired locally in San Antonio and Dave says it was one of the best indie shows going and did decent ratings, but they didn't have sponsorship to pay for all the production costs. The show initially cost $2,500 per week to produce and then jumped up to $3,000 and Michaels was paying for it himself out of pocket. But as the costs kept increasing and it got to be $3,500 a week, Michaels decided to cancel. Even though the show did decent ratings, live attendance was poor and the wrestlers' nightly pay had recently been cut in half. Michaels plans to keep the training school going and run 3 live shows per week, but there won't be anymore TV. His most promising students, like Spanky and American Dragon, have already moved on and are working in Memphis for the WWF's developmental group there.
That Urban Wrestling Federation that Dave wrote about a little while back is starting in the fall and apparently has a pretty decent number of syndicated television deals throughout the country. It'll mostly be based around black wrestlers and will also feature hip hop music.
SFX, the company that was at one point in talks to buy WCW, will be co-promoting ECW's next PPV in October. SFX owns many of the major arenas and venues throughout the country. In the past, when negotiating with WCW, they were also in talks to take over the promotion and live event business for WCW but that didn't pan out either.
Raven still hasn't gotten his release from ECW and Heyman is apparently in no hurry to give him one. Raven's contract expires on its own next month and for now, Heyman is up to his eyeballs in negotiations to try and save ECW so he's not too concerned about dealing with Raven right now.
Various ECW notes: Bob Backlund reportedly apologized to Heyman after making a scene at a recent ECW show. Psicosis is working on a $1,500 per week deal. RVD will be on an episode of TNN's "18 Wheels of Justice." Raven has trimmed down considerably, losing close to 40 pounds, now that he's got one foot out the door and is headed to WWF.
Notes from Nitro: it was a really good show, highlighted by a U.S. title tournament which was won by Lance Storm. Johnny Ace laid out the matches and the whole thing had an AJPW-style feel to it, which went really well. ICP is back in WCW, alongside Vampiro who has changed his look due to lawsuit threats from punk band The Misfits. Mike Awesome is now doing a Fat Chick Thriller gimmick. All in all, Dave says Nitro was actually a better show than Raw this week.
Ric Flair had a 2-and-a-half hour rotator cuff surgery. He can't do any lifting for 3 months. They're hoping he'll be back in time for Halloween Havoc, but Dave's not sure what the angle will be since they dropped the Flair/Russo angle after Flair's head got shaved because Russo quit the company, then came back, and has now decided to take himself off TV as a character (that doesn't last long).
Eric Bischoff is reportedly telling people that FOX has agreed to a 13-week commitment to whatever new wrestling venture he and Hogan are apparently working on but Dave can't confirm that from anyone else.
A trial date has been set for next month in the case of Buff Bagwell punching a WCW ring crew member. Bagwell's lawyer entered an innocent plea on his behalf. But Bagwell already admitted punching the guy to police in the initial arrest report so, yanno.
The Miami Herald ran a big story on Goldberg, documenting his meteoric rise and success. Dave points out that while the stuff in the article was true....that was in 1998, which might as well be a decade ago in WCW years. The article didn't point out how much WCW has totally misused Goldberg for the last 18 months and didn't point out his his drawing power is meaningless now and that his career has plummeted along with the rest of the company since 1998.
Random WCW notes: Kid Romeo was released for unprofessional conduct after he no-showed several house shows he was booked for (he eventually returns right at the very end of the company). Dave thinks Sean O'Haire has a ton of potential and says WCW needs an OVW-like developmental territory like WWF has so that these guys can go work there and learn in front of crowds before being put on Nitro. There's talk of bringing in PG-13 to feud with 3 Count and the Jung Dragons.
Hulk Hogan once again went on Bubba The Love Sponge's radio show and this time he said it wouldn't surprise him if Vince McMahon sent Russo to WCW to ruin the company. Dave is still calling bullshit on this whole Hogan/Bash at the Beach thing since Russo would have been fired immediately if it was really a shoot. Then again, WCW is known for turning a blind eye to things that would get anyone else fired from any other job (see: Steiner, Scott). Hogan's contract expires next June and it requires WCW to use him in a minimum of 6 PPV shows per year at a cost of $675,000 per match (it's worth noting that the recent Uncensored PPV, which featured Hogan vs. Flair, did the lowest buyrate in history and WCW only grossed $644,000 from the show, so the entire PPV didn't even make enough money to pay Hogan to work it). Hogan also gets $25,000 per TV or house show appearance. Anyway, Hogan hasn't worked 6 PPVs yet this year so Dave expects him back sooner or later (nope). Hogan's contract also forbids WCW to do anything to besmirch his good name without his permission and of course, he has creative control and is fully in charge of his own angles and storylines.
Speaking of this Hogan/Russo angle, a lot of guys in the company are upset at how far Russo and Bischoff are going to try and fool everybody. After the PPV, Russo even went to the bar with all the wrestlers (which he never does) to say his goodbyes and was acting like he expected to be fired. Bischoff is making a big stink about quitting the company in disgust over what happened. WCW has a long history of trying to "work the boys" which has pretty much never drawn money and only pisses off the rest of the locker room and makes them distrustful of management. Everyone involved continues to claim the whole thing was a shoot, but nobody else in the company believes it (funny enough, this was the one time it actually WAS a shoot...well, part of it anyway. But WCW had cried wolf so many times by this point that nobody believed it).
After WCW completes their currently booked shows, the plan is to no longer run house shows because of how poorly they're doing. From a business perspective, it makes sense because at this point, they're losing money on house shows because of poor attendance. But for the wrestlers, it sucks because a lot of guys have incentives built into their deals based on how many dates they work which will mean significantly less money for those guys. With house shows cancelled, that leaves only TV and PPV which, at most would only be 9 shows per month.
Despite Kevin Nash repeatedly mentioning Scott Hall on TV, nothing has changed. Brad Siegel is steadfastly refusing to bring Hall back to the company (don't worry, Kevin Nash is going to keep trying until the very end).
A lot of people in WCW feel Tony Schiavone should be removed from his position because he isn't exactly great at it these days (I have a lot of nostalgic appreciation for Schiavone, but yeah. He clearly didn't give even half a fuck during the last year or so of WCW). But he has so much political power that he's basically untouchable. Some thought Stevie Ray did a good job on commentary last week and with the racial discrimination lawsuit still lingering, the company is pushing to include more black stars in prominent positions. Jeremy Borash and Chad Damiani also got announcing try-outs this week (Borash's history is well known. This Damiani guy is a different story. After WCW folded, he ended up becoming a Hollywood writer and producer and, more importantly, there's this story about him which, judging from context clues, I'm guessing either had to be Stacy Keibler or Molly Holly).
A group called Wrestling Fans Against Censorship is fighting back against the PTC. You see, the PTC has a list of merchants on its website that they have partnerships with where you can buy stuff and the PTC gets a cut. These fans have started writing to these organizations, threatening a boycott as long as they continue associating with the PTC. So far, they've gotten 2 companies to pull out of their PTC partnerships, so giving the PTC a dose of their own medicine seems to be working.
Various WWF notes: Billy Gunn should be back in late September. Big Show is expected to return either at the PPV or on the Raw or SD after. Undertaker is getting married this week (and will soon be getting a rather unfortunate throat tattoo to go along with it).
Unbeknownst to anyone, apparently Chyna posed for a Playboy photo shoot this week, which means WWF and Playboy have evidently squashed their beef over last year's Sable lawsuit. The Chyna issue will be out later this year.
Crash Holly was fined after an incident where he passed out while doing a PR appearance for the company at the Times Square restaurant. Apparently it's the 3rd such incident Crash has had and along with a fine, he was also basically given the riot act and told one more such incident would be the end of him in WWF (I don't know the details here, but considering how he died 3 years later, this probably should have been a warning sign).
Davey Boy Smith has been in and out of the hospital for weeks stemming from an apparent overdose earlier this month. Smith has been battling an addiction to morphine and is going through a divorce from his wife Diana. He's still signed to WWF but hasn't been used since May when he showed up to a couple of shows clearly in no condition to perform. Not long ago, he was in rehab in Atlanta but checked out early against doctor's orders to go home and deal with his marriage issues.